Someday, Maybe, Hopefully

Here we go again ... As soon as I get this horse feeling comfortable and happy, we push him just a little and then we're back at a new beginning. Not the beginning, but a new beginning. That's what happened between last weekend's lesson and this weekend's lesson with Sean Cunningham, owner and trainer at STC Dressage.

It's not a bad thing, but it isn't easy, especially for someone who is struggling to find the joy in riding. That someone would be me. It's not that I am done with riding - at least I hope not, but I am finding my daily rides to be more of a grind than they used to be. I don't laugh nearly as much as I used to, and there aren't days of just silliness. Everything was so much easier with Speedy - or at least time makes them seem so.

May 2021 - with trainer Sean Cunningham

So what's new and hard? Well, a few weeks ago I was telling Sean that Izzy doesn't fill up my outside rein consistently, and the contact isn't nearly as steady as it needs to be. Izzy will take the contact for a moment and then drop it. Sean wasn't worried about the issue at all as it's what we've been working towards. For so long, Izzy grabbed the bit and held onto it for dear life. Now, he picks it up tentatively, but we need to swing back to a firmer connection.

When I push Izzy forward towards the bit, he either takes it hesitantly or grabs it and charges forward. Over the past two weeks. I've been trying to help Izzy find a middle ground. It's okay for him to take the bit assertively, I can handle it, but he has to learn how to let me move his poll just a millimeter or two while he does it. I do need some steering after all. Sean pointed out that both of us - Izzy and me, need to figure out how much contact to take. I need to develop a feel for a firmer connection and so does Izzy.

September 2020 - back when he was learning to let go of the bit.

There wasn't a lot Sean could say during Saturday's lesson. It's something I have to figure the feel out for myself. He did help coach me through the worst of the bit grabbing and charging though. Coming out of spooky corner #2, Izzy kept grabbing the bit with an I AM THE BOSS firmness. He hasn't yet learned how to share the contact with me. Sean suggested doing the 10-meter circles exercise he showed me in August. Instead of fighting for some movement in his poll, I moved his whole body back and forth, left to right.

He isn't ready to share the contact yet, but we're both working on it. When I rode on Sunday morning, no matter how hard he made it, I kept reminding myself to help him, not just half halt incessantly. I bent him to put him on my outside rein, and then I half halted while still driving him forward. We did a lot of 10-meter circles and bending lines, but eventually, he gave me some movement in his poll while maintaining the contact.

Someday, maybe, hopefully, we're going to be fantastic! Or not, and that will be okay, too.